master recipe: pâte à choux dough
This is a master recipe on making one of the cornerstones of French baking: pâte à choux dough [paht ah shoo]. Once you master this dough, you will be able to make all kinds of sweet and savory items. Pâte à choux is a mixture of simple ingredients: flour, water, milk, eggs, but the proper technique is essential. And unlike other pastry dough, this one is pre-cooked on the stovetop. When you take them out of the oven, they are so light, you're going to think that they'll float off the baking sheet. So, you ready… Let’s get into the kitchen.
prep time
25 Min
cook time
20 Min
method
Bake
yield
many
Ingredients
- PLAN/PURCHASE
- 8 tablespoons sweet butter, unsalted
- 1 cup filtered water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, kosher variety, fine grind
- 1 cup flour, all-purpose variety
- 4 large eggs
How To Make master recipe: pâte à choux dough
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Step 1PREP/PREPARE
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Step 2Gather your ingredients.
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Step 3Place the butter, and the water into a saucepan, over medium heat.
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Step 4When the butter is melted and the liquid is simmering, add the salt, and stir to combine.
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Step 5Dump in the flour all at once, and begin stirring, using a wooden spoon.
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Step 6Chef’s Note: You’ll be doing a lot of stirring.
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Step 7Continue to stir, making sure you incorporate all of the flour into the liquid.
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Step 8Keep stirring until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the saucepan, about 3 to 4 minutes.
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Step 9Continue to cook and stir for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
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Step 10Chef’s Tip: Start stirring gently until the liquid and the flour are incorporated. Then get more vigorous and slap the dough against the sides of the pan. Eventually, the dough will pull away from the sides, and leave a film on the bottom of the pan. When that happens… you can stop stirring, and remove the pan from the heat.
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Step 11Remove the dough from the pan, and place into a stand mixer bowl, fitted with a paddle attachment, and allow the dough to cool for 5 to 7 minutes.
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Step 12Chef’s Note: You could perform the next steps by mixing with a wooden spoon; however, life’s too short for that, and I’ve done enough stirring for one day.
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Step 13Put the stand mixer on slow speed and add the eggs, one at a time.
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Step 14Chef’s Tip: Allow each egg to fully incorporate into the dough before adding next.
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Step 15At the end of the process, the dough should look nice and creamy.
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Step 16A BASIC RECIPE
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Step 17Place a rack in the middle position, and preheat the oven to 425f (220c).
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Step 18Place heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and separate each ball by 1 inch (2.5cm).
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Step 19Chef’s Note: I prefer to use a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
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Step 20Place into the preheated oven, and bake for 20 minutes.
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Step 21Reduce heat to 375f (190c), and continue to bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the pâte à choux are nice and golden.
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Step 22PLATE/PRESENT
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Step 23Dust with some powdered sugar, and serve while still nice and warm. Enjoy.
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Step 24Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
- Last Step: Don't forget to share! Post a picture of your finished recipe here and on your favorite social network. Don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes!
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